|
 Viral marketing can work wonders for
any business, web site or product. It can be a great
source of sales leads, one-way links and targeted traffic.
Yet, many marketers are not taking full advantage of this
'viral factor' in their marketing efforts.
How about you? Are you using any viral marketing methods
with your web site? Or does the word 'viral' make you
cringe?
Many people believe 'viral marketing' is a myth, one of
those Internet follies that only happens on rare occasions
when some fantastic product or site comes along.
In reality, viral marketing techniques can be used by any
web site - big or small. They can be used by any marketer
who takes the time to put some simple steps into place.
Viral marketing 'done right' can have many benefits. It
will:
- increase your link popularity (often one way links)
- increase targeted traffic to your site
- build your brand recognition
- create targeted leads for your products
- automate your marketing efforts
Here are some simple viral marketing techniques you can
try with your web site, product or business:
1. Word of Mouth - We have all seen this phenomenon
displayed with many products . People spread the word
about some great movie or gadget and suddenly everyone
knows about it. Human nature dictates we tell our friends
about some great product we have bought or found. Nature
of the beast, it's just the way we are - so why not take
full advantage of it?
If you have a web site - put up a simple 'tell a friend'
form so your visitors can easily tell others about your
great site. Easy and very simple to do but many webmasters
don't do it. Similarly, if you have a newsletter, service,
product or with any aspect of your site - just include a
few sentences at the end of your copy - asking very
politely, "if you found this service, product or web
site helpful - why not tell your friends, family and
colleagues about it."
2. Branding - Make sure you have a logo on your
site or product. Branding your site is very important if
you want your site or product to be noticed and talked
about. For that matter, a catchy brand name can be a
'viral technique' in itself - so try and come up with one
that springs from the lips with a distinctive ring to it!
People recognize brands, it gives them a clear image of
your site or product. Include your brand or logo on every
page of your site and on every product, service, material
coming from your site or business.
3. eBooks - Savvy marketers jumped on this new
invention very quickly, they knew the 'viral' power of
these little ebooks. Ebooks are electronic files that can
be downloaded from any web site and distributed easily
around the web. You can also have other webmasters or
marketers, 're-brand' these ebooks with their own links.
High quality ebooks get passed along very quickly and are
great viral tools.
Anyone can write a simple ebook on the topic of their
site. If you can't write, just get permission to use a
collection of articles from the numerous 'article
directories' on the web such as www.ezinearticles.com
or www.goarticles.com.
Ebook compiling software (in both .exe or pdf format) is
relatively cheap or can be found for free on the net. Just
Google to find it!
4. Viral Software - Some simple software products
or applications can be very viral, often passed around or
downloaded from the web by thousands each day. These have
to be useful or handy products that the users will desire
- ecalendars, organizers, personal planners, link checking
software, and so on. Many are desktop products that sit on
the computer user's desktop - prime location in the
marketing arena.
And the best examples of this kind of viral software have
the company logo, sales message and contact email - with
LIVE LINKS to all of the above - conveniently displayed
within the product. These simple software programs can be
great viral promotional devices that spread like wildfire
across the web. (get an example of this below in the
author's resource box)
5. RSS - Newest player in the viral game! RSS which
stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' and just by the
nature of what it does; RSS is an awesome viral tool.
Originally used by news organizations to syndicate their
news stories, it is usually associated with Blogs because
blogs use an RSS feed to distribute their content. Good
quality RSS feeds are picked up and displayed by different
web sites all across the web.
Since Microsoft has announced the next version of Windows
will have RSS integrated into its operating system, new
RSS applications will take viral marketing to heights that
have not been witnessed before. Alert marketers are
already gearing up for this viral explosion.
You should also be gearing up for RSS if you haven't
already. Using a simple site like blogger.com
(owned by Google) will give you a basic blog and RSS feed
to spread your message or product to all interested
parties.
These are just some viral techniques that will help
increase your web presence. They will also boost your
traffic and increase your links. Used properly, these
viral techniques will also spread your web site, product
or service around the globe.
What more can you ask for?
|
